Smoking among high school male students in rural South Africa

Few studies examine smoking in rural areas of countries in Africa. This study examines the roles of families, community influences, and key sociodemographic factors and school-age smoking among adolescent boys in rural South Africa. A total of 1,116 black male students were included in this analysis. Descriptive analyses were conducted, and multiple logistic regression (MLR) models were developed to analyze outcomes. The dependent variables were lifetime smoking, recent smoking, and age of smoking initiation. Sociodemographic variables and students' perceptions of community, family, and school were employed as independent variables. MLR analysis revealed family structure and discipline were found to be significant predictors of adolescent male smoking behavior as well as age, number of household amenities, town and smoking behavior. Adolescents in developing countries are increasingly subjected to tobacco industry promotion and exploitation. The results show that males in rural South Africa are not isolated from the tobacco epidemic.